Cosmos: A Sketch of the Physical Description of the Universe (Volume 1) (Foundations of Natural History)

"I have the crazy idea to represent in one work the entire material universe, everything we know today of the phenomena in the celestial spaces and of life on earth, from the stars in the nebulae to the geography of mosses and gigantic rocks, in a vivid language that will stimulate the imagination."―from Humboldt's 1834 letter to Karl Varnhagen

The first volume of Cosmos, Alexander von Humboldt's five-volume description of the physical universe, was published in 1845. In it Humboldt presents a critical survey of the state of scientific thinking in fields as diverse as astronomy, geology, geography, paleontology, biology, botany, and zoology. This paperback edition reprints the Harper & Brothers edition, published in New York in 1858.

Explorer, courtier, laboratory scientist, and internationally acclaimed author, Alexander von Humboldt (1769-1859) embodied the Enlightenment ieal as well as anyone in his age. He built a lasting reputation on the effectiveness of his methods, the quality of his writings, and the strength of his friendships with the likes of Goethe, John C. Fremont, Samual Morse, and Charles Lyell. His influence in Europe and the United States―as scientist, geographer, and social critic―was immense.